NEW YORK – The Christmas tree lighting at Rockefeller Center takes place tonight in New York City.

Here’s everything you need to know about it, when it starts, how to visit and what road closures there are in the area.

What time is the 2024 Rockefeller Center Tree Lighting?

Kelly Clarkson will once again host the tree lighting ceremony this year, which begins with live music and performances at 8 p.m. The lights usually turn on around 10 p.m

Spectators can line up at 48th or 51st Streets along Sixth Avenue starting at 4 p.m.

When and where to see the Rockefeller Center tree

The tree at Rockefeller Center will be lit from 5 a.m. to midnight through mid-January. It is illuminated for 24 hours on Christmas Eve and from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. on New Year’s Eve

It is located at 30 Rockefeller Center between West 49th and West 50th Streets in Manhattan. Visitors arriving by public transportation should use the 47th-50th Streets-Rockefeller Center stop on the B, D, F and M lines.

Tickets can be purchased to skate at the Rockefeller Center ice rink or enjoy the views from the observation decks. For more than $300, you can purchase a VIP pass for an up-close view of the tree and a champagne toast.

What you should know about this year’s Rockefeller Center tree

The Norway spruce is from West Stockbridge, Massachusettsin the southern Berkshires region. It is the first tree selected in Massachusetts since 1959.

The tree was cut on November 7th And arrived in the city on November 9th. It is approximately 70 years old, 74 feet tall and weighs 11 tons.

It has been decorated with more than 50,000 colorful lights on 5 miles of wire and is topped by a Swarovski star that weighs 900 pounds and is covered in 3 million crystals.

The History of the Tree Lighting at Rockefeller Center

Say the organizers the holiday tradition dates back to 1931 when a group of workers pooled their money to buy a Christmas tree. They decorated the 20-foot-tall balsam fir with garlands made by their families.

Two years later, Rockefeller Center hosted its first official tree lighting.

December 1999 holds the record for the largest tree – 100 feet tall from Killingworth, Connecticut.

Road closures around Rockefeller Center

If you’re trying to see the tree or simply get around the area, the NYPD says the following roads will be closed Wednesday:

• 46th Street between 5th Avenue and 6th Avenue
• 47th Street between 5th Avenue and 6th Avenue
• 48th Street between 5th Avenue and 6th Avenue
• 49th Street between 5th Avenue and 6th Avenue
• 50th Street between 5th Avenue and 6th Avenue
• 51st Street between 5th Avenue and 6th Avenue
• 52nd Street between 5th Avenue and 6th Avenue
• Rockefeller Plaza between 48th and 51st Streets
• 6th Avenue between 46th Street and 52nd Street
• 5th Avenue between 46th Street and 52nd Street
• Madison Avenue between 42nd Street and 57th Street
• 6th Avenue between 42nd Street and 57th Street
• 5th Avenue between 42nd Street and 57th Street

More information about Gridlock Alert Days for the holidays can be found here.